Thomas Steyer, co-founding director of the Center for the Next Generation, argues that voters must view climate change as an immediate threat before it will change their votes at the polls.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... the belief in ... the need to tackle climate change but not a religion in Europe ... say he or she this issue in Europe in the midst of this terrible economic crisis has almost disappeared ... how do you persuade people ... when they don't see this as an urgent issue that needs to be dealt with when they do see that yields and incomes a man housing in at ... the prospects for the children getting until ... as the gin Palace he persuade them that this masses ... well of course everything you're saying is true ... which is ... if ... someone doesn't perceive an issue as it ... directly affecting ... their family if they don't talk about it the kitchen table ... when they're alone and it doesn't matter ... and in particular in the democracy which is what I believe we live in ... unless you're willing to change your vote over ... it doesn't matter ... so this issue polls in the seventies seventy percent of Americans say ... they understand that the ... earth is warming but it's ... probably caused by people in that we should do something about it and then they would ... like their representatives to do something about ... in the seventy s ... bought ... it is not their number one issue when they're sitting around the kitchen table ... it's not they don't perceive it is their leading jobs issue Unilever ... perceive it is their leading health issue ... they don't perceive it is ... directly impacting our kids ... so the question is how does that happen ... let's let's make one ... distinction that this is a generational issue ... you know if you talk to people ... who are under the age of thirty ... those people out for them they perceived as something that will directly ... significantly impact their lives ... in a major way and a major negative way on less than stellar ... I think this is the I've I've had friends of mine ... by considered to be some of my good friends were around sixty who said to me know honestly I'm never going to deal with this is not impact my life ... so the question about Chilean sea is also question about urgency ... which is the time frame I think ... you know ... when ... George was talking about insurance ... from my point of view almost the biggest strategic question is how long is this can take before we have a real problem which is the silliest question ... because people can look out for ... because they have so many ... actually urgent problems whether it's their health of their kids' education ... for their paycheck or wanting to save for retirement ... so ... looking out ten or fifteen years is just beyond most people's ... on it's a good ability ... to do in a meaningful way ... the way that George Express tightening ... was also the way he expressed the rest ... which was true insurance which is to say ... shouldn't we spend some money now to avoid a huge problem in the future which people are very accustomed to do ... and so that is a way to both take away the issue about risk like is this really true ... I don't need to convince you that you're wrong ... I just need to convince you ... that it's possible that you're wrong you don't have to lose ... you just have to admit that it's possible ... that that we could be right and we should spend some money to afford ... so when I think about St ... the two ways to do it are either are we going to put it in a context ... that Americans can get behind across ... parties in a bipartisan fashion ... or we do know to wait for an event to happen that can change people's money ... in a note ... an event to change people's mind I believe ... House the impact of them ... immediately or their family immediately so that ... Sandy was not a huge event ... in Northern California ... if the Mississippi dried up and couldn't have barge traffic that was not a major event ... in Northern California ... the concept of global warming ... is a way to diffuse it's unimaginable it's also something that overwhelms people they don't know what to do ... so when you ask about selling its ... you hafta to bring it down to some the kitchen table you have to put it in terms ... that they can neither understand and think it's a good deal ... of bargain a bipartisan fashion ... or else something's gonna have to change their mind that so dramatic ... that people go into what ... this really is the biggest issue in the world ...